NL man charged in connection with fatal NJ crash

Lacey Township, N.J. – A New London man struck and killed a good Samaritan who was helping another driver along the side of Garden State Parkway on Saturday afternoon, according to the Associated Press and The Press of Atlantic City.

Eric Hernandez, 26, was charged with causing death or injury while driving unlicensed, being under the influence of a controlled dangerous substance and obstruction. His passenger was also charged with being under the influence of a controlled dangerous substance and obstruction. He is being held at Ocean County Jail on $50,000 bail.

New Jersey State Police could not provide any further details about Hernandez or the incident today.

Anibal Espinoza of North Plainfield, N.J., was helping push a disabled car to a safer location when Hernandez’s car spun out of control at 4:46 p.m. and hit him. Espinoza was a passenger in a van carrying four people that had stopped to help Gabrielle Pacquing of Barnegat, N.J., who had spun off the road after hitting a patch of ice.

Espinoza was pronounced dead at Jersey Shore University Medical Center. Pacquing and the other occupants of the van that stopped to help her were treated for minor injuries at area hospitals.

According to the Press of Atlantic City article, Saturday afternoon’s icy conditions contributed to more than 20 crashes in three hours on a 10-mile stretch of highway.